Key players in the downstream sector of the Nigeria oil and gas industry have suggested methods the Federal Government can use to mitigate effects of the removal of fuel subsidy. Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the Major Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Clement Isong, told New National Star that the government could inject the money saved from subsidy removal into transportation, education and health to relieve the burden on the most vulnerable in the country.
“The first thing is to minimise the negative impact on the most vulnerable. The government could subsidise transportation by providing mass transit vehicles at the inter-state and intra-state level instead of subsidising fuel. “The second area is when we are no longer spending money on subsidy, this money goes into education and health which are the two key elements in human development. You give people the ability to look outside themselves.
“We need to invest significantly in education. If we could invest in teaching all the people who are out of work things that they could do to keep themselves busy, we would reduce the security problem for instance,” he observed. MOMAN at a recent press briefing, by its Chairman, Adetunji Oyebanji, stated that focus should shift from arguments over subsidizing petrol to how best to maximise the benefits of the removal of price control and subsidy, while minimising the adverse effects on citizens. Oyebanji insisted that collective resolve was needed by all stakeholders to face the challenges the removal of control and subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) could bring.
Experts have opined that the removal of fuel subsidy would affect transport rates, transport costs and production costs. Isong also advised that economic analysts should be consulted by the government regarding the mitigation of the effects of fuel subsidy removal. “Nigeria has some very smart economists and people. If you apply their advice, there are a couple of things that can be done,” he said.
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